Stone Ruination IPA

Not bottle conditioned
Stone Ruination IPA [baron rating 5/5] - 7.7% copper ale,resinous candied sweets smell,huge sticky resin taste,intense resin pithy finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Thank you to Paul Kruzycki from Ales By Mail for sending this through for a baron rating!

Buy Stone ales from Ales By Mail
Not bottle conditioned




Update: Wednesday, October 31, 2012

We were also very lucky to be able to try a very fresh bottle of this beer, bought direct from the brewery and drank by a group of us just over a week later.

Stone Ruination IPA [baron rating 5/5] - 7.7% gold ale,fresh hops lemon grapefruit pine smell,coriander resin taste,very bitter pine finish
Listen to what we all (see the note below) have to say about it

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Thank you to Chris (@beerquester) for bringing this along for a baron rating!
Note : This was the biggest baron rating session yet, with six of us sampling and saying what we thought whilst sat in the lovely Source Deli in Ormskirk. From left to right in the photo:
The baron rating crew (minus the baron who was taking the photo)
Chris with fresh Stone Ruination IPA

Mallinsons Eye Pea Ay

Mallinsons Eye Pea Ay [baron rating 4/5] - 5% gold ale,citrus lemon smell,sweet lemon big bitter taste,long pithy bitter lemony finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation
Thank you to Tara (@Mallinsons) from Mallinsons for handing this over for a baron rating!

Buy Mallinsons ales from Source Deli & myBrewerytap

BrewDog Anarchist/Alchemist

BrewDog Anarchist/Alchemist [baron rating 5/5] - 14% dark amber ale,huge resin pineapple smell,sweet pine candied taste,candied sweet finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes
Note: Not bottle conditioned
Buy BrewDog ales direct

Is free beer really free?


I've been baron rating since 2009 and received a lot of beer from brewers who want their beer to receive a baron rating.

I've noticed in the past week or so that the topic of 'free beer' has cropped up time and time again, so Chris and I wanted to give our side of the story.

Is it's really free? Does free beer taste better?


Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

Subscribe in iTunes

Please listen to our audio rant about 'free beer' and comment below on what you think, I'm completely happy to receive both positive and negative comments, so consider it a chance to slap me round the face whilst I smile sweetly for the camera...


P.S. I think one of the key points is that if you receive beer for review, you should mention where it came from and thank the brewery for their hard work in getting it to you, shipping bottles is not cheap and a 'thank you' is the least you can do!

Hawkshead Windermere Pale

Hawkshead Windermere Pale [baron rating 5/5] - 6% gold ale,sweet grapefruit smell,bittersweet fullbodied taste,dry pithy fruit bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it

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Note: Not bottle conditioned
Thank you to Gemma (@HawksheadBrewer) from Hawkshead Brewery for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Hawkshead ales direct

Looking forward to baron rating St Stefanus Blonde

St Stefanus seem to have come from nowhere on the beer scene but have a great website, twitter presence and have been getting their Blonde beer out there! I was sent a bottle of this from AlesByMail but thought that it should best be enjoyed from the correct glassware (it's very important!) as well as getting enough of the beer to give a decent audio review. So I got in touch with St Stefanus and they delivered this package to me promptly this week:



This beautiful large shoe-box housed a couple of bottles of their Blonde beer as well as one of the nicest glasses I've seen, absolutely stunning with black and gold St Stefanus lettering and a beautiful gold rim. It's around the size of a thick wine glass and will make drinking the beer seem as classy as drinking a glass of fine wine.

The box also contained a very nicely presented booklet about the brewery and the beer, detailing tasting notes about how the beers will change as they age as well as details about the fact that it's an unpasteurised fermented beer that is refermented in the bottle. It's brewed with three different yeast strains to give it's distinctive flavour.
  •  St Stefanus Blonde - 7% ale brewed with three different yeasts and matured for at least three months. This speciality Belgian Blonde beer is an unpasteurised, high fermented beer that is then refermented in the bottle (taken from the St. Stefanus website)
It's a beautiful pack, including beer mats with details about the ale and the details from the monastery itself, I was gobsmacked when I opened it. If there was ever a time when marketing was done tastefully and to the point then this pack is it!

Look out for 'baron ratings' of this St Stefanus beer soon, and a big thank you to Kelly (@StStefanus) from St Stefanus for sending it through to me!

Wold Top Headland Red

Wold Top Headland Red [baron rating 3/5] - 4.3% ruby ale,caramel cranberry & berries smell,slight tart berries taste,tart pomegranate finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
We struggled to score this one, I found the tartness a bit much but Chris thought it was a nice addition, the audio explains more...

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to @WoldTopBrewery from Wold Top Brewery for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Wold Top ales direct

Canterbury Street Light Porter

Canterbury Street Light Porter [baron rating 2/5] - 5.8% ruby ale,earthy chocolatey smell,thin plummy slightly sour taste,chocolatey finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Thank you to Richard (@SlurpBeer) from Slurp Beer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Canterbury ales from Slurp Beer

Loddon Hoppit

Loddon Hoppit [baron rating 4/5] - 3.9% amber ale,nutty buttery smell,toffee dried fruit firm bitter taste,charred malt nutty bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to @LoddonBrewery from Loddon Brewery for sending these through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Loddon ales direct

Looking forward to baron rating Ales By Mail ales

Ales By Mail has been a keen supporter of the Baron and decided that it was time that they supplied a few more bottles to receive the baron treatment. Here are the details of what arrived promptly this morning:


  • De Molen Vuur & Vlam - 6.2% 'fire & flames' ale hopped with galena, cascade, chinook, simcoe & amarillo (RateBeer)
  • Dupont Saison Dupont - 6.5% coppery blond, the finest aromas and a strong bitterness transform this beer into a thirst-quenchener with no equal, just the way it was created. (taken from the Dupont website)
  • Mighty Hop Black Pearl Porter - 4.4% beautifully smooth and dark beer,brewed with a lot of care and just a little chocolate malt
  • St Stefanus Blonde - 7% ale brewed with three different yeasts and matured for at least three months. This speciality Belgian Blonde beer is an unpasteurised, high fermented beer that is then refermented in the bottle (taken from the St. Stefanus website)
  • Stone Ruination IPA - 7.7% India Pale Ale, so called because of the "ruinous" effect on your palate! This massive hop monster has a wonderfully delicious and intensely bitter flavor on a refreshing malt base
Look out for 'baron ratings' of these Ales By Mail beers soon, and a big thank you to Paul Kruzycki from Ales By Mail for sending these through to me!

Buy all these ales here

Titanic Stout

Titanic Stout [baron rating 5/5] - 4.5% black stout,liquorice smoky choc smell,tart berries smoky burnt bitter taste,charcoal smoky finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to @bob_beer from Best of British Beer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Titanic ales from Best of British Beer

Jever Pilsener

Jever Pilsener [baron rating 4/5] - 4.9% gold lager,grassy lemon smell,soft creamy mild sweet lemon taste,dry zingy bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Richard (@SlurpBeer) from Slurp Beer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Jever beers from Slurp Beer

Looking forward to baron rating Hawkshead's Well Hopped Collection

I got an email recently asking if I would like to try Hawkshead Brewery's new bottled beers - their Well Hopped Collection. They are full flavoured beers brewed with whole cone hops from around the world. All three are 6% and come in neat looking 330ml bottles:

 
Hawkshead Brewery
  • Cumbrian Five Hop - 6% ale which is a blend of 5 traditional & modern hops, including Fuggles (UK) Citra & Amarillo (USA)
  • NZPA - 6% New Zealand Pale Ale, hops from New Zealand: Green Bullet, Motueka, Riwaka & Nelson Sauvin
  • Windermere Pale - 6% ale blending traditional & modern hops, including Goldings (UK) & Citra (USA)
I'm really excited about trying these as I've had all three on cask before and they were amazing so I'm looking forward to trying these versions which have in some cases been bumped up a notch or two on the ABV due to them being in bottled form.

The labels are really smart and will look good on the shelf, I also like the Facebook and Twitter icons which indicate that they have a good online presence as well as the inclusion of a QR code for quick access to their website.

It takes you to the homepage of Hawkshead, I would have preferred it to take me to a tasting notes page for the specific beer in question though.

Look out for 'baron ratings' of these Hawkshead beers soon, and a big thank you to Gemma from Hawkshead Brewery for sending these through to me!

Buy Hawkshead ales direct

Mallinsons Sorachi Ace

Mallinsons Sorachi Ace [baron rating 2/5] - 3.9% gold ale,fresh herbs,lemongrass & basil smell,bittersweet basil taste,savoury bitter finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.
This is quite a marmite beer as Chris really liked it and gave it a 4/5!

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation but very loose sediment

Thank you to Tara & Elaine (@Mallinsons) from Mallinsons for handing this over for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Mallinsons ales from BeerRitz, myBrewerytap & Source Deli

Driftwood Spars Alfie's Revenge

Driftwood Spars Alfie's Revenge [baron rating 4/5] - 6.5% dark amber ale,faint candied smell,rich candied fruit taste,zingy orange finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Thank you to @bob_beer from Best of British Beer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Driftwood Spars ales from Best of British Beer

Looking forward to baron rating Mallinsons Chinook & Saaz

Mallinsons got in touch this weekend saying they were in Ormskirk and had a couple of samples for me, more from their excellent single hopped range:


Mallinsons Brewery
  • Chinook - 4.1% golden ale with a light citrus hop nose, bitter lightly citrusy taste and a long bitter slightly dry finish
  • Saaz - 4.1% pale gold ale with a fruity nose and a light bitter fruity taste, followed by a medium bitter finish 
Look out for 'baron ratings' of these Mallinsons beers soon, and a big thank you to Tara & Elaine (@Mallinsons) from Mallinsons Brewery for sending this through to me!

Buy Mallinsons ales from BeerRitz, myBrewerytap & Source Deli

Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager

Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager [baron rating 2/5] - 5.5% dark amber ale,grassy savoury smell,boring caramel taste,slightly sweet finish

Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to Richard (@SlurpBeer) from Slurp Beer for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Flying Dog ales from Slurp Beer

The Session #62: What Drives Beer Bloggers?



I'm not part of The Session, a monthly topic that a number of the beer bloggers that I follow partake in.

I find that editing my audio reviews and writing up my very short twitter-able baron ratings keeps me busy enough but reading this month's entries has driven me to write an entry myself.



Q: What drives me to blog & tweet about beer?

A: Friendship!

I met my beer review buddy Chris due to a common interest in ale and forged a good friendship with Paul & Matt from the excellent Source Deli due to my interest in trying new beers (and them stocking excellent new beers).

I've been invited on personal tours of breweries due to Twitter, been sent countless bottles of ales to try thanks to very generous brewers who I've met through running my blog.

I've travelled to twissups and beer festivals on my own safe in the knowledge that there will be people there who I know through talking about beer on the internet.

Not to mention the countless evenings where the Baroness is out for the evening and I've only got myself, a few bottles of ale and Twitter to keep me company - I can guarantee that a fun and engaging conversation is never far away.

The main reason that I blog and tweet about beer is due to the friendships that have been gained and are constantly being added to thanks to the wonderful beer community!

@Christopher_R & The Ormskirk Baron having a little Christmas party

Baron on Tour: Okells Brewery

In early March I was fortunate to visit the Isle of Man with work and to be able to coordinate a trip round the island's largest brewery - Okell's Brewery just outside Douglas.

Mike Cowbourne who is the head brewer of Okells is quite a prolific tweeter and we've struck up conversation via Twitter on a number of occasions. This time he offered to show me and a number of colleagues around the brewery.

Okells is a twenty minute walk from Douglas and is round the back of a large industrial unit owned by parent company Heron & Brearley. Mike showed us in and took us straight up to the control floor. Quite a strange looking room with short stubby vessels until you realised that they are just the tops of them, they descend straight down into the floor below!

Mike started the tour by giving us quite a bit of background on who was Dr. Okells and how he started the brewery, the Okells website has an excellent summary of the historyof Okells Brewery, much better than my scrawled notes. Mike has been brewing since university, where he did a micro biology degree and then an MSc in brewing.

Okells currently brew around 80,000 barrels a year, with a lot being exported to the UK via deals with Greene King, Coors, WTBS and other wholesale roots. There are a few Okells owned pubs in the UK, Thomas Rigbys, Fly in the Loaf in Liverpool and Beer & Billet in Chester and some Market Town Taverns.


In 1994 Okells went highly computerised which provides consitency as well as giving him plenty of different  options when it comes to brewing. He has a Mash Conversion Vessel (aka lauter tun) which allow him to temperature program the mash, extracting different types of sugar at the different temperatures to give different fermentables. The lauter tun can filter and sparge, but instead of the regular sparge arm there are distributed sprayheads instead which act like a wonderful power shower.

The kettle or 'copper' has a vapour condenser on the top, which captures the steam generated in the brewing process and in turn is fed back into heating the hot water for the next brew.

They have a unique wort heater, they have a wide gap plate heater as their heat exchanger, which requires minimal downtime compared to the normal heat exchanger.




Hops were talked about next, they add hops at three stages of the brew, half way through the boil (for bitterness) and then five minutes before the end of the boil (or flame-out) which are mainly for aroma. The wort is then pumped into the whirlpool vessel where more hops are added before then being filtered out via centrifugal force as the wort leaves the whirlpool. Mike is experimenting with galaxy hops at the moment and has been playing with the hop aspects of the Okells common range to see if he can impart more aroma.

They currently brew a Saison special with regular Okells house yeast but Mike is thinking of playing with some Belgium yeast for the Saison and let if ferment for around five days but has concerns about yeast cross-contamination

We then moved to the Okells lab where he conducts various profile tests, and hot & cold break measurments to measure protiens. He also has gas chromatography machines for flavour profile.


Then it was time to move to the bar and sample some of these beers that Mike had been making us thirsty for!

First up with their replacement for their mild. Mild sales are down "dying with the guys that drink it" as Mike so honestly put it. It's trial name was "Olaf the Black" and it was a 3.9% dark ale with a lovely roasty and stout-like flavour and a burnt bitter finish. A lot more bitterness than a mild and would make a great session stout.

Olde Skipper is a new seasonal ale, a 4.5% fleshy fruity ale brewed with Galaxy and Cascade hops for plenty of fruity citrus aroma and flavours. Really smooth and creamy thanks to the Isle of Man respecting the use of the sparkler...

Okells Red was next, a 4.7% sweet candied sugary fruit tasting ale with a lovely dark amber/reddish tint. A really nice ale and one for the person who doesn't like bitter.

Mike then disappeared and came back with a couple of jugs full of  beer straight from the conditioning tanks - you can't get fresher than that!

Spring Ram is another new seasonal ale, a 4.5% beer brewed with Citra hops, it had a sulphour-like and big stinky hops smell and a big bitter finish compared to the taste that was a bit more mellow. We also got to try Dr. Okells IPA which was a 4.5% fresh clean citrus ale brewed with Bobek (Syrian Goldings) and Cascade - it was a creamier version (due to being cask ale) of their bottled version which we gave a [baron rating 4/5].

We then had a short chat about beer in general, he can't leave the brewery much but tries to get to GBBF if he can. He likes to keep an eye on what Thornbridge, Kernel and BrewDog are up to although he follows loads of people on twitter so gets ideas and inspirations from all over the place.

We all really enjoyed looking around Okells Brewery and I'd like to say a massive "thank you" to Mike for giving over his evening to show me around and to be so generous with the samples of ales.

You can follow Mike on Twitter or see what Okells are up to via Facebook or their blog.

Mike Cowbourne & The Ormskirk Baron


Wold Top Scarborough Fair IPA

Wold Top Scarborough Fair IPA [baron rating 5/5] - 6% copper ale,peachy floral smell,sweet peach floral bitter taste,firm bitter finish
Listen to what Chris and the Baron have to say about it.

Download flash to hear the audio review
Subscribe in iTunes


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Thank you to @WoldTopBrewery from Wold Top Brewery for sending this through for a 'baron rating'!

Buy Wold Top ales direct

Samual Smith Oatmeal Stout

Samual Smith Oatmeal Stout [baron rating 4/5] - 5% black stout,sweet choc & gravy smell,smooth sweet creamy taste,velvety fruity choc finish


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Franziskaner Weissbier

Franziskaner Weissbier [baron rating 5/5] - 5% gold ale,soft yeasty clove smell,mild biscuity banana & citrus taste,dry slightly sour finish

Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Everards Beacon

Everards Beacon [baron rating 3/5] - 3.8% amber ale,bready caramel smell,decent body with a mild spicy taste,dry bitter finish


Note: Not bottle conditioned

Batemans Mocha

Batemans Mocha [baron rating 4/5] - 6% dark ruby ale,sweet drinking choc smell,smooth bitter coffee dark choc taste,mild bitter choc finish

Note: Not bottle conditioned

Marble Utility IPA

Marble Utility IPA [baron rating 4/5] - 6.5% copper ale,mild tropical cordial smell,soft fleshy fruit bitter taste,unsweetened bitter finish

Note: Bottle conditioned with perfect carbonation

Buy Marble ales from Source Deli

George Gale Summer Breeze

George Gale Summer Breeze [baron rating 2/5] - 3.8% gold ale,grassy biscuity smell,thin gentle grassy taste,light dry finish

Note: Not bottle conditioned